Looking Back to the Future of our Luxury Inverness hotel

Casting our eyes Back to the Future for Achnagairn

Today: October 21st 2015.

The day Marty Mcfly travelled Back to the Future in the second of the series’ films, to find a futuristic world of hoverboards and technology. Though it’s not quite the 2015 we know today, the world is still getting nostalgic, casting our minds back to thinking about how things have changed. At Achnagairn, we thought we’d do the same for our luxury Inverness hotel, and see how things have changed over the years…

Then and now

At Achnagairn, we’re afraid we don’t have photos of the castle’s state back in 1985, but we can show you its transformation into a luxury Inverness hotel from when our owners Gillian and Mike bought it back in 2007!

The castle has 24 bedrooms now, all ensuite, and many glorious reception rooms. Would you believe that when they bought it, Achnagairn was falling apart – a dilapidated gem that they decided to transform. There were only 2 properly functioning bathrooms when they and their renovation team took it into hand. This process took around five years, as walls were replaced, pipes fitted, and lights installed. Then came the decoration… Gillian, our owner is also our interior designer; the one with the quirky thoughts that have brought Achnagairn to life as a truly unique luxury venue. How many places do you know with a round bed in a round turret with a round bath to boot?

As you can see from our ‘before and after’ photos, the renovation was painstaking – every floorboard had to be checked; every wall repainted. Fire-boarding was installed; damp was removed. The luxury Inverness hotel you see today is a completely modernised version of the crumbling building that Gillian and Mike found eight years ago.

Over the past couple of years, they have turned their attention to the large luxury lodges on the grounds of the estate, bringing Gillian’s magic touch to these with her wonderful design ideas. Scottish media said these houses were like a “ghost town” until the new owners decided to inject new life into them, and true to this, the lodges have been buzzing with life all summer, running on a B&B basis!

So while the world gets nostalgic, we are pretty happy with our position today. “The future is what you make it” said the wise Doc Brown, and with such a visionary outlook and great product, we’re sure Achnagairn’s will be a bright one!

For more information about our luxury Inverness Hotel: Achnagairn, explore our website. You are welcome to stay on a B&B basis, taking a room, or alternatively taking the whole castle, as a wedding, corporate or event venue. Our new large luxury lodges are also available for hire, or on a bedroom by bedroom basis. Explore them here.